The Hillsboro Canal is located in the southeastern portion of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

within the

South Florida Water Management District The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is a regional governmental district that oversees water resources from Orlando to the Florida Keys. The mission of the SFWMD is to manage and protect water resources by balancing and improving w ...

, and for much of its length forms the border between Broward and Palm Beach counties; however, its western end was entirely in Palm Beach County, until being recently annexed to Broward County-Parkland, FL . It begins at

Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee (), also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwa ...

at the S-2 water control structure in South Bay west of

Belle Glade, Florida Belle Glade is a city in south-central Florida and it is the far western part of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 17,467. Bel ...

.Light, S. S., and Dineen, W. J. (1994). "Water control in the Everglades: A historical perspective." Everglades: The ecosystem and its restoration, S. M. Davis and J. C. Ogden, eds., St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, FL, 47-84. It passes within the southern border of the

Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife sanctuary is located west of Boynton Beach, in Palm Beach County, Florida. It is also known as Water Conservation Area 1 (WCA-1). It includes the most northern remnant ...

and flows southeast from there along Loxahatchee Road in a rural, lightly populated area. When it reaches the more heavily built-up region further east, it bends to head due eastward, forming the county line. Near its eastern end at the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

, with Boca Raton to the north and

Deerfield Beach Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County line. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,859. It is a principal ...

to the south, it departs from its straight course to go around several curves, but the county boundary continues to follow it at this point. 10 miles of the canal is navigable, and it is popular for recreational boating and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

Restoration of the Everglades An ongoing effort to remedy damage inflicted during the 20th century on the Everglades, a region of tropical wetlands in southern Florida, is the most expensive and comprehensive environmental repair attempt in history. The degradation of the Eve ...

efforts include treatment to remove elevated levels of nutrients. As a part of this restoration effort, Hillsboro Canal flow was diverted at the Loxahatchee Refuge in 2001 to a wetland stormwater treatment area, STA-2, which discharges into Water Conservation Area 2.

References

{{reflist Canals in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Palm Beach County, Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Broward County, Florida